Pavarotti exhibit opens in Rome

[October 16, 2008]  ROME (AP) -- An exhibition dedicated to Luciano Pavarotti opens Thursday in Rome as part of a series of tributes marking the first anniversary of the tenor's death.

It recalls the opera star's career with costumes, music sheets and films, but also shows a slice of his personal life through memorabilia and a collection of paintings made by Pavarotti.

The show will run through Dec. 8 at the Vittoriano museum complex in downtown Rome.

"Luciano knew how to move people, with his great voice of course, but also with his humanity and joy that went straight to the heart," Nicoletta Mantovani, Pavarotti's widow, told Italy's RAI state TV on Wednesday.

Mantovani said painting was one of Pavarotti's favorite hobbies. During an interview she showed one Pavarotti's paintings as well as a notebook in which the tenor rated his own opera performances.

Concerts and others tributes have been staged around the world over the last few weeks, from New York to Petra in Jordan.

Pavarotti died Sept. 6, 2007, at 71 after a battle with cancer.

[Associated Press]

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